# a priori
## English
### Alternative forms

* apriori

### Etymology

First attested in 1610. Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (anglicized) /ˌeɪ pɹaɪˈɔːɹaɪ/, (Latinist) /ˌɑː pɹiˈɔːɹi/
* (US) IPA: /ˌeɪ pɹaɪˈɔːɹi/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)

### Adjective

a priori (comparative more a priori, superlative most a priori)
* (logic) Based on hypothesis and theory rather than experiment or empirical evidence.
    In his opening argument, the student mentioned nothing beyond his a priori knowledge.
* Self-evident, intuitively obvious.
* Presumed without analysis.
** 1996, Jeet Heer, Gravitas, Autumn 1996:While the great critics drew their authority from the breadth of their reading, New Criterion critics often base their authority on an a priori rejection of the contemporary.
* (linguistics, conlanging) Developed entirely from scratch, without deriving it from existing languages.
** 2012 November 1, Laura Wright, “UT Language Creation Society invites students to learn origins of newer languages”, in The Daily Texan‎, archived from the original on 26 February 2013:Conlangers can also create a priori languages, which have no basis in existing languages. You might be familiar with more a priori conlangs than you think: The Klingon language from the television series “Star Trek,” the Na’vi language from the movie “Avatar,” and the Dothraki language from the television series “Game of Thrones” are all examples of a priori languages.

#### Synonyms

* deductive

#### Antonyms

* a posteriori

#### Derived terms

* apriorism
* apriorist
* aprioristic
* apriority

#### Related terms

* a fortiori

#### Translations
### Adverb

a priori (comparative more a priori, superlative most a priori)
* (logic) In a way based on theoretical deduction rather than empirical observation.
    Synonym: deductively (broadly synonymous outside of philosophic arcanity)
    Antonyms: a posteriori, inductively

#### Translations
### Usage notes

A priori is broadly naturalized in English, but is sometimes typeset in italics.

### See also

* ex ante

### References

* ↑ Donald J. Harlow, How to Build a Language

## Finnish
### Etymology

Latin a priori

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɑːpriˌoːriː/, [ˈɑ̝ːpriˌo̞ːriː]

### Adverb

a priori
* a priori

## French
### Alternative forms

* à priori, apriori

### Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a pʁi.jɔ.ʁi/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

a priori (invariable)
* intuitively known, a priori

### Adverb

a priori
* (informal) at first glance

### Noun

a priori m (plural a priori)
* preconceived idea

#### Antonyms

* a posteriori

## German
### Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a pʁiˈoːʁi/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

a priori (indeclinable)
* a priori

### Adverb

a priori
* a priori

### Further reading

* a priori on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia $^{de}$

## Italian
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

### Adjective

a priori (invariable)
* a priori

### Adverb

a priori
* a priori
    Antonym: a posteriori

#### Derived terms

* apriorismo
* apriorista
* aprioristico

### Anagrams

* prioria, ripario

## Latin
### Etymology

Literally, “from the former, from that which comes before”. Introduced as a technical phrase by Scholastic philosophers, notably Albert of Saxony (14th century).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /aː priˈoː.riː/, [äː priˈoːriː]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /a priˈo.ri/, [äː priˈɔːri]

### Adverb

ā priōrī (not comparable)
* (Medieval Latin) In a manner involving reasoning from cause to effect.
* (New Latin) In a manner involving reasoning from first principles; a priori.

#### Descendants

* → English: a priori
* → French: a priori
* → German: a priori
* → Norwegian Bokmål: a priori
* → Norwegian Nynorsk: a priori
* → Polish: a priori
* → Portuguese: a priori
* → Spanish: a priori

#### See also

* ā posteriōrī

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /aˈpriːoːrɪ/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -oːrɪ
* Hyphenation: a‧pri‧o‧ri

### Adverb

a priori
* (logic, philosophy) a priori; based on hypothesis rather than experiment.
** 2011 December 23, Morgenbladet, page 9:førmoderne samfunn … hvor forskjell ennå ikke betraktes a priori som en mangelpre-modern societies… where difference is not yet considered a priori as a deficiency
    viten a priori
       a priori knowledge
* presumed without analysis, self-evident, intuitively obvious.
** 1894, Dagbladet:adskillige snes ungdom, som a priori kan henregnes til det overflødige proletariatseveral dozen youth, who a priori can be attributed to the superfluous proletariat
** 1971, Norsk Filosofisk Tidsskrift:to former for apriori innsikttwo forms of a priori insight
** 2004, Thea Selliaas Thorsen, Pia Fraus:han [vil] ikke a priori utelukke at [sjalusien] kan være noe av årsaken til at han nå drives rundt av en urohe [will] not a priori rule out that [jealousy] may be part of the reason why he is now driven around by a turmoil
    a priori kunne man vente at...
       a priori one could expect that...

#### Antonyms

* a posteriori (“a posteriori”)

#### Related terms

* a fortiori (“a fortiori”)

### References

* “a priori” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
* “a priori” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
* “a priori” in Store norske leksikon

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Adverb

a priori
* (logic, philosophy) a priori; based on hypothesis rather than experiment.
* presumed without analysis, self-evident, intuitively obvious.

## Polish
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a ˈprjɔ.ri/
* Audio:(file)
* Syllabification: a prio‧ri

### Adjective

a priori (not comparable, no derived adverb)
* (literary, logic, philosophy) a priori
    Synonyms: aprioryczny, apriorystyczny
    Antonyms: a posteriori, aposterioryczny

### Adverb

a priori (not comparable)
* (literary, logic, philosophy) a priori
    Synonym: apriorycznie
    Antonyms: a posteriori, aposteriorycznie

#### Derived terms

* aprioryczny
* apriorystyczny
* apriorysta
* aprioryzm

#### Related terms

* apriorycznie
* aprioryczność

### Further reading

* a priori in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* a priori in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /a pɾiˈɔ.ɾi/ [a pɾɪˈɔ.ɾi], (faster pronunciation) /a ˈpɾjɔ.ɾi/
* (Portugal) IPA: /a pɾiˈɔ.ɾi/, (faster pronunciation) /a ˈpɾjɔ.ɾi/

### Adverb

a priori
* (logic) a priori (derived by logic)
* a priori (presumed without analysis)

#### Derived terms

* apriorismo

## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin ā priōrī (“involving reasoning from cause to effect; from first principles”, literally “from the former”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a pɾiˈoɾi/ [a pɾiˈo.ɾi]
* Syllabification: a pri‧o‧ri

### Adverb

a priori
* beforehand
    Synonyms: previamente, antes, anteriormente
* (logic, philosophy) a priori

#### Derived terms

* apriorismo
* apriorístico

### Further reading

* “a priori”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10